University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Marquette
UNI swim & dive rally in late dual victory at Marquette
10/9/2026 8:20:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving
MILWAUKEE --- The UNI swimming and diving team secured its first dual win of the season on Friday, topping the Marquette Golden Eagles in southeast Wisconsin by a narrow score of 103-102.
Northern Iowa trailed by 19 team points late, but rallied in its regular season debut to spoil Marquette's first home dual in program history, racking up seven event wins in the process.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Friday's dual started off with a bang as the relay of Elyse Brayton, Neriah Giedrys, Nikki Walters and Charlotte Sander won the 200-yard medley relay in 1:45.51, followed by the team of Morgan Raether, Avery Duerr, Chloe Magnuson and Rachel Rolow in third in 1:48.55. Action continued with the 1,000-yard freestyle, which saw the duo of Crystal Benjamin (10:58.85) and Natalie Kuboushek (11:05.91).Â
Olivia Gustafson notched a first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:54.98, followed by Averie Bilskemper in fourth (1:58.48). The 50-yard free would see Sander (24.03) and Payton Hultgren (24.68) claim both first and second places respectively, as Walters took third in the 200-yard individual medley (2:11.62), followed by Aspen Cole in fifth (2:14.21).
The 100-yard freestyle saw Bilskemper place second in 53.81, followed by Peyton Pasqualicchio in fifth in 55.98. Raether would top the field in the 100-yard backstroke in 57.18 seconds, with Rolow finishing fourth (1:00.66).Â
In the distance freestyle competitions, Sam Oeltjen took home first place in the 500-yard freestyle with a winning time of 5:13.44, followed by Abigail Barkhurst in fifth (5:23.92). Giedrys would claim first in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:06.69) followed closely by Duerr in second place (1:07.77). The final event of the meet would see the 200-yard freestyle relay squad of Sander, Bilskemper, Hultgren and Raether triumph (1:36.59), followed by the team of Gustafson, Natalie Harris, Rolow and Pasqualicchio in fourth place (1:41.11).
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UP NEXT
The Panthers return to the pool on Saturday morning as they face UIC and Southern Indiana in dual action. Competition is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CT at Flames Natatorium in Chicago with live results available on the Meet Mobile app (swimming) and Dive Meets (diving).
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UNI swimming and diving action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Swimming and Diving), X (@uniswimdive) and on Instagram (@uniswimdive). Schedules and rosters, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
